City’s home match against Everton, originally scheduled for August 19th, has already been postponed on account of the Toffees’ involvement in the inaugural UEFA Europa League, but a closer look at the looming fixture pileup reveals that the game may not take place until the week of November 23rd.

With no remaining open weekends in 2009, available mid-week fixtures are as follows:

Week of August 17th – Europa League Playoff Round (1st leg)
Week of August 24th – Carling Cup (2nd Round), Europa League Playoff Round (2nd leg)
Week of August 31st – International Break
Week of September 7th – International Break
Week of September 14th – Europa League Group Stage (Matchday 1)
Week of September 21st – Carling Cup (3rd Round)
Week of September 28th – Europa League Group Stage (Matchday 2)
Week of October 5th – International Break
Week of October 12th – International Break
Week of October 19th – Europa League Group Stage (Matchday 3)
Week of October 26th – Carling Cup (4th Round)
Week of November 2nd – Europa League Group Stage (Matchday 4)
Week of November 9th – International Break
Week of November 16th – International Break

So if either team advances to the 4th round of the Carling Cup, and Everton do not crash out of Europe at the first hurdle, a mid-week fixture on November 24th or 25th looks the most likely date for a make-up.  Since those are also the dates of Matchday 5 of the Champions League, the exact date would depend on whether the Rags are at home that week or somewhere else in Europe.

What the fixture congestion also illustrates is how busy the Europa League teams will be with the expansion of the group stage this season.  Now more than ever does City have a real opportunity to charge up the league table at the expense of the relatively small squads of Everton and Aston Villa, who are likely to be facing the rigors of European football until Christmas and beyond.

For the second year running, the Blues flew off to idyllic Rottach-Egern this morning to kick off the new preseason at training camp in southeast Germany.

Mark Hughes again brings the team to the site of the Bayern Munich retreats he once took as a player, for a week of fitness, bonding, and time away from ever-growing glare of the media.

Last year the week ended with a 0-0 friendly draw against Ukranian side Metalurh Zaporizhya at the Sportplatz Birkenmoos ground (home of local side FC Rottach-Egern), and City will again kick off their 7-match friendly schedule with a Birkenmoos tie against Bayern rivals 1860 Munich.

1860 currently languish in 2nd Bundesliga (the second tier of German football), but wear some familiar colors and have recently been mooted as a destination for the recently released Blue, Dietmar Hamann.

Kickoff is scheduled for this Saturday at 12:30 PM ET (6:30 local time).

City will also play friendlies against Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, and Barnsley ahead of an Old Firm doubleheader against Rangers and Celtic in the leadup to the Premier League season.

The complete 2009/10 fixture list is now available on the Fixtures/Results page.

To kick off the new season you can now follow City Skyline on Twitter.  Get updates on MCFC and the world of football along with other musings.

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The Blues drew Hamburg SV yesterday in the quarterfinal draw for the UEFA Cup, ensuring City’s fifth trip to Greater Jutland this season. 

Given the fact that Hamburg can be called one of the favorites in the competition, City could have done better in the draw, especially with co-favorites and Hamburg rivals Werder Bremen (another trip to northwest Germany) or Udinese waiting in a potential semifinal.  City already visited the Volksparkstadion back in July for a preseason friendly and were comfortably beaten by the Rothosen.  However, a grueling trip to the Ukraine has been avoided completely, and fellow Blues can take heart from the fact that since the July friendly City has raided Hamburg for two of their best players and secured a comprehensive win away to German opposition.  Furthermore, the draw ensures that City will host the second leg of both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds at COMS.

The last time City made it to a European quarterfinal, they were summarily dumped out by German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, the tie being decided when the Blues suffered a 3-1 thrashing in the Rhine-Ruhr.  City will head to Germany the week of April 9th hoping to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that the quarterfinal round remains Martin Jol’s furthest progression in the competition.

UEFA CUP QUARTERFINAL DRAW

Hamburg SV v. MANCHESTER CITY
Paris Saint-Germain v. Dynamo Kiev
Shakhtar Donetsk v. Olympique Marseille
Werder Bremen v. Udinese

UEFA CUP SEMIFINAL DRAW

Werder Bremen/Udinese v. Hamburg SV/MANCHESTER CITY
Paris Saint-Germain/Dynamo Kiev v. Shakhtar Donetsk/Olympique Marseille

UEFA CUP FINAL DRAW

Paris Saint-Germain/Dynamo Kiev/Shakhtar Donetsk/Olympique Marseille v. Werder Bremen/Udinese/Hamburg SV/MANCHESTER CITY

 Energi Nord Arena - UEFA Cup Round of 16 (2nd Leg)

Shelton 85, Jakobsen 89

PENALTY SHOOTOUT
Aalborg		City
Jakobsen	O	Evans	O
Johannson	O	Elano	O
Augustinussen	X	Wright-Phillips	O
Nomvethe	O	Dunne	O
Shelton	X	Ireland

 Manchester City fan life expectancy once again plummeted yesterday as City threw it all away against Aalborg BK in their second-leg Round-of-16 tie, only to win a heroic penalty shootout that put the Blues through to the last eight.

City were comfortable enough (if toothless in the final third) for the first hour of the game, before Wayne Bridge hobbled off with a hamstring problem.  Aalborg seemed to find their footing as soon as Javier Garrido took Bridge’s place at left back, and inexplicably City found themselves under the cosh for the last 20 minutes of the game.  While Garrido (who has had an otherwise solid season) was repeatedly skinned down Aalborg’s right flank, giving the ball away cheaply and nearly giving away a penalty, American Marcus Tracy made an immediate impact for the Danes.  Tracy’s AaB debut came in the 77th minute, and it almost felt inevitable that he’d bag a brace to balance the fates.  It was another American, after all, that tossed City its European lifeline back in August when Danny Califf scored a tie-equalising own goal at Midtjylland.

Instead, City entered the 84th minute with the 0-0 scoreline intact, only needing to avoid losing a 6-minute game by two goals.

Six minutes later, City had lost the game by two goals.

Balloongate goalscorer Luton Shelton went unpenalised as he handled the ball down and smashed it into the back of the net on 85 minutes.  City striker Ched Evans was not as lucky five minutes later, and the referee pointed to the spot before Michael Jakobsen coolly equalised.

City had seemingly thrown away the entire European dream in the space of six minutes, in what can comfortably be called their worst result in the entire UEFA Cup campaign (at least we scored a goal at Santander).

However a goalless extra time saw the tie go to penalties, and goalkeeping heroics saw City prevail from the spot in Denmark for the second time in as many tries this season.  Shay Given made two tremendous saves, and that was enough as Evans, Elano, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Richard Dunne — yes, Richard Fucking Dunne — made no mistakes.  It was a brave and deserved moment for Dunnie, whose 120-minute performance at the defensive end was once again immense.

So City go into the quarterfinals in the most difficult manner possible, per usual.  It’s officially the club’s best continental run in 30 years, and as one of only eight teams left in the hat, who knows what could happen?  City being City, anything.

DANISH BACON LEAGUE – UPDATED TABLE

So City are guaranteed to finish second in the Danish Bacon League…a testament to Danish football as well as some of the dodgiest European performances the Blues have put in this season.

 City of Manchester Stadium – UEFA Cup Round of 16 (1st Leg)

Caicedo 8, Wright-Phillips 30

City defeated Aalborg BK tonight in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie with the Danish champions.

Felipe Caicedo opened the scoring with a 8th minute battering-ram goal, the big Ecuadorian collecting a bulleted pass from Robinho, muscling off  defender Michael Jakobsen with ease, and slotting past goalkeeper Karim Zaza.  Shaun Wright-Phillips finished the scoring 22 minutes later with a sublime piece of individual effort, as he was put through by Stephen Ireland, dribbling through two Aalborg defenders before unleashing a curling shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that tucked into the upper right-hand corner of the goal past a sprawling Zaza. 

Robinho was denied a stonewall penalty in the dying moments of the first half, as he was cynically stamped on by Aussie Michael Beauchamp after a series of stepovers.  Unfortunately Luxembourger referee Alain Hamer utterly shit the bed, and the non-call ensures that the tie is still very much alive despite an otherwise comfortable performance and a tremendously important clean sheet.

DANISH BACON LEAGUE – UPDATED TABLE

When City take the pitch on Thursday for the first leg of their Round of 16 UEFA Cup tie against Aalborg BK, it will mark their fifth game against Danish opposition this season.  As MaineRoadMemories of mancityfans.net has coined it, it’s become something of a Danish Bacon Cup for City this season.

Or how about the Danish Bacon League?  How have City’s three Dane opponents fared against each other and against the Blues this season?

Turns out, the Bacon League table reflects the current Superliga table rather well.  Copenhagen (City’s Round of 32 opponent) have handed out a number of thrashings to both Midtjylland (City’s 2nd Qualifying Round opponent) and Aalborg en route to the top of both tables.  Midtjylland, who ruined City’s all-time unbeaten European home record back in August, sit third in the Bacon League table behind City and 4th in Denmark.

Which brings us to Aalborg, who have suffered two losses in three games against Bacon League competition this season and who are currently languishing mid-table (sounds familiar) in the Superliga.  However, AaB did tonk top-of-the-table Copenhagen just before Denmark’s winter break, to say nothing of their European exploits in which they’ve collected five points from four games against British opposition.

The verdict?  Copenhagen is clearly the cream of the Danish crop this year, both in terms of results and in scoring goals.  That should give City fans confidence going into this tie, especially given how toothless Copenhagen looked in the Round of 32.  It could have been (and maybe should have been) about 8-2 to City on aggregate when the two teams met last month.

Still, anyone who remembers how they felt in the 89th minute in Herning, when Midtjylland’s foot was firmly on the throat of City’s European dream, knows that Danish opposition should be underestimated at your own peril.  AaB is coming off a two-legged drubbing of Deportivo la Coruna in the Round-of-32 and will be well up for the fight.

But a 5-0 win for City on Thursday means top of the Bacon League table and a comfortable away day in Aalborg.  Let’s have it.

RESULTS 

20 July 2008                            Aalborg BK   1 – 2   FC Midtjylland

14 August 2008                        Manchester City   0 – 1   FC Midtjylland

17 August 2008                        FC Copenhagen   3 – 1   FC Midtjylland

28 August 2008                        FC Midtjylland   0 – 1   Manchester City

21 September 2008                  FC Copenhagen   3 – 0   Aalborg BK

16 November 2008                  FC Midtjylland   0 – 3   FC Copenhagen

30 November 2008                  Aalborg BK   3 – 1   FC Copenhagen

19 February 2009                     FC Copenhagen   2 – 2   Manchester City

26 February 2009                     Manchester City   2 – 1   FC Copenhagen

Nine English teams — very nearly half the Premier League — qualified for Europe last season.  But the dissolution of the Intertoto Cup means at least one less European place up for grabs.  The Fair Play League route (which City availed themselves of last season) is still an entry point into the re-branded Europa League, not that it really bears thinking about this time around.  With the addition of one qualifying round and a re-organized group stage, the road from a Fair Play berth to the cup consists of a staggering 23 games.

As it stands right now, the traditional routes into next season’s Europa League are as follows:

1. FA Cup Champions – UEFA Europa League (4th Qualifying Round)
2. Premier League, 5th Place – UEFA Europa League (4th Qualifying Round)
3. Premier League 6th Place – UEFA Europa League (3rd Qualifying Round)

With City ten points adrift of 6th-place Everton, the Blues’ only realistic chance of qualifying for Europe domestically hangs on the FA Cup being won by a top-six team, which would automatically open up 7th in the league as a European place.  This weekend’s cup results would go a long way towards determining that.

FIFTH ROUND PROPER

Arsenal 3 – 0 Burnley

Arsenal saw off brave Burnley with three great goals, booking a quarterfinal tie with Hull and continuing their rich run of form that should have Aston Villa well and truly sweating it.  Burnley can be proud of their two great cup runs, narrowly missing trips to Wembley not once but twice.  They play some good stuff and I’ve got a lot of time for Owen Coyle.  I wouldn’t mind seeing them get into the playoff places in the Championship and make the leap to the Premier League next season, hopefully at the expense of a team of cloggers like Stoke.  Meanwhile City look like they will have their hands full when they visit the Emirates in two weeks’ time, a place where we are always crap as it is.

QUARTERFINALS

Coventry City 0 - 2 Chelsea

Chelsea are going to Wembley for the second time in three years after beating Coventry at the Ricoh Arena.  Guus Hiddink maintained his 100% record since arriving at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea ensured that a repeat of last year’s quarterfinal humiliation at the hands of Barnsley was avoided.  Coventry’s exit paves the way for an all-Premier League semifinal round, a far cry from last seeson when Portsmouth was the only top-flight representative in the last four.

Fulham 0 - 4 Rags

Pitiful Fulham became the latest team to capitulate to United as the Rags continued their quest for the heptuple or whatever the fuck it is now.  It’s one last distraction off the fixture list for Fulham, who can now focus solely on the league.  That’s more bad news for City who will be jockeying for league position with the Cottagers until the end of the season.

Everton 2 - 1 Middlesbrough

Everton scored two headed goals (not that they score any other kind) to book their place in the semifinals for the first time since they won the cup in 1995, their last piece of silverware.  The Toffees have been ravaged by injury and will need some good fortune to keep their run going.  Boro have more pressing matters to attend to.  Like staying in the league.

So no cupsets to speak of this weekend.  All seven European spots now look to go to league placement, barring a miraculous cup run by Hull.  It will be up to City to seize the opportunity.  It’s be a big ask given their horrible away record and West Ham’s rich vein of form, but with 10 league games and 30 points still on the offering, it’s still all to play for.

FA CUP SEMIFINAL DRAW

Arsenal or Hull City v. Chelsea
Rags v. Everton

Welcome to City Skyline, a blog about Manchester City and other goings-on in the world of football.

Stay tuned for my first match preview ahead of the first-leg Round-of-16 UEFA Cup tie against Aalborg at Eastlands.

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